Inspired by and taken from “The Magnificent Defeat” by Frederick Buechner
Which armor are you putting on? Is it the armor for the war between flesh and flesh, or between flesh and the spiritual forces of evil.

The armor used for Flesh vs. Flesh wars is not the whole armor of God but, rather, the whole armor of man, because this is man’s war against other men. In such a war perhaps you wear something like this:

Gird you loins with wisdom, the sad wisdom of the world which knows that dog eats dog, that the gods help those who help themselves and charity begins at home.

Put on the breastplate of self-confidence because if you have no faith in yourself, if you cannot trust to your own wits, then you will never get anywhere.

Let your feet by shod with the gospel of success – the good news that you can get just about anything in this world if you want it badly enough and are willing to fight for it.

Above all, take the shield of security because in a perilous world where anything can happen, security is perhaps what you need more than anything else – the security of money in the bank, or a college degree, or some basic skill that you can always fall back on.

And take the helmet of attractiveness or personality and the sword of wit

People are always criticizing the advertising business for its implied promise that the one who gets the best job or the prettiest girl is the one who wears the right clothes or uses the right toothpaste or drinks the right brand of vodka. But the fact of the matter is that although this is by no means a happy truth about our society, it is nonetheless very often not far from being true… In the war of conquest, that is to say, in the war that we all wage for a place in the sun, it is the armor of man rather than the armor of God that will serve you best; and although I can’t value that armor as highly as some would value it, I also cannot mock it because the armor of man serves its purpose all too well, and because I wear some of it myself, and so do you. – Fredrick Buechner

Ephesians 6:10-18

New King James Version (NKJV)

The Whole Armor of God

10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age,[a] against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

14 Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; 18 praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints—

My father is my hero. He hasn’t always been, I’m ashamed to say, but he is now.

Here are some of the reasons that my father is my hero:

He’s always composed and calm. Never out of control, nor does he ever yell, unless someone is yelling too much and too near him. (A person can only take so much.)

He recognizes he makes mistakes and he apologizes when he hurts someone’s feelings. He knows he’s not perfect but he accepts it for what it is. Some people strive to be perfect and others like to point out other’s mistakes. Which are you?

He smiles and talks to people he likes and loves. He doesn’t talk to people that he’s either annoyed with, or plainly doesn’t like. But doesn’t say anything negative about that person. He generally nods them to death and pictures a donkey in his head.

He prefers a person’s company rather than gifts. But if your going to give him clothing make sure he has plenty of room, but that it’s not too big. If you give him candy, make sure it is butterscotch, or chocolate or caramel or all of the above, and always salty.

He knows when someone wants something from him. He may look like a western hick, but he’s as smart as they come. He’ll catch you in a lie. He’s not forgetful, he’s just slow of hearing.

He’s not materialistic. He would be happy anywhere as long as he has something to keep the rain off his head, something to keep him warm and a bed to rest in. (I hear you giggling, Donna and Lynda)

He’s generous and caring. He’s generous with gifts and will give away all his possessions without thinking about it. But somehow he knows who’s genuine, and who’s trying to play him. The devil himself would give up and go back to hell before he got anything out of my old man.

He’s helpful. He’ll go out of his way to fix something or build a fence for a neighbor. I heard a story from a neighbor who lived next door to my father once. My father overheard his neighbor talking about hiring someone to cut down a tree in his front yard. The man heard my dad shout “I’ll be right back.” Shrugging the man continued his conversation with his friend. A moment later my father came back with the longest chainsaw he ever saw (that’s my dad–overkill). He started the motor up and went to work. The man said he witnessed sawdust and chips flying all over the place. So much that he couldn’t see my father or the tree. Another moment later, the tree slowly toppled to one side. And low and behold my father still stood there completely covered in sawdust, including his glasses. He took his glasses off and said ‘there ya go’ and promptly began sawing it up into fireplace sized pieces. It was all done in ten minutes. He helped his neighbor stack the pieces in the side yard off the lawn. And they became best friends and the neighbor later on became my best man. He loves telling the story to outsiders, just so they would know what kind of man my father is.

He’s a veteran of three wars. World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam war. Although he never saw combat, he sat behind a gunnery tower keeping his eyes on the night sky and drinking the world’s strongest coffee. Navy coffee. What’s left over they use to remove the paint off the ship. No really, seriously. What does that do to your insides then?

He is a true believer. He believes in God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. He’s always believed God will get you out of any fix you’ve stumbled into. And he’s had a few close calls.

He loves me unconditionally. After recovering my long term memory in the hospital I remember how much he had to put up with me. All the trouble I would get into. All the trouble I would cause, and all the trouble makers I would hang with. I always said the wrong thing at the wrong time, pulled the wrong pin, or cut the wrong wire. My dad would just shake his head and sometimes let out a breath of air at the same time, but just walk away. But never did he hit me, never did he say a discouraging word, and he most certainly never spanked my bottom. But he knew there was something not quite right with his son. Dad let me tell you what it was, hormones and the scantily clad girl across the street.

My daughter lived 780 days (2 years and 2 months) and we often wondered after she died, if she knew Jesus. She Did! We know we will see her again and I hope her story will be a comfort to others who have experienced loss. May God comfort you and bless you!

Emily was born on February 13, 2002 with Carnitine-acylcarnitine translocase (CACT) deficiency which is a genetic disorder that prevents the proper breakdown of fats. This leads to excess ammonia in the blood (hyperammonemia), an enlarged liver (hepatomegaly), and a weakened heart muscle (cardiomyopathy). Emily died on April 3, 2004 of cardiomyopathy.

Carolyn and Terence miss Emily very much. We know that she lights up heaven just a little more with her presence but this world is that much dimmer without her.

Yes, the Westchester Men’s Ministry has over 500 followers on Pinterest and growing. Although many of those followers are women at the moment. Take a look at our boards and tell us what you think in the comments section of this post?

Do you think we should spend time on Pinterest? How can we better serve you and your ministry? Thanks!

Price discount if you are part of the work team. Scholarships also available.

Logistics: The weekend starts with dinner on Thursday night at 7pm. Then Stephen Beck will give his first talk of the weekend.

Some people plan to come up on Friday which is perfectly fine. Please be aware that there is a program (breakfast, speaker, etc) from 8am until noon. Then we have the afternoon (after lunch until 5:30pm) free.

Car pooling is available. Just let me know when you plan to leave and I can team you up with someone. Thanks!

Questions: Contact us (NYMensMinistry@yahoo.com) or Bill Freeman at bfreeman@priorityone.org

So, How Do We Respond?!

I was planning to put together a list of tools and resources but then found Focus on the Family’s page on the topic and I think it is pretty good. There are other tools out there as well like SafeEyes and Norton Family but this site also contains resources for TV, etc. So take a look at this site and let us know what you think in the comments. Thanks!

I just love this picture! It appeared in the Fall edition of Seed & Harvest from the Trinity School for Ministry. Although I don’t know Tyler, I can tell he is a great dad. So I thought this was the perfect image to use as we talk about the ‘M’ in M*E*N*T*O*R.

We’d like to ask you to tell us about people you know who are great Dads. We then publish some of the stories and videos that we receive. You can contact us at NYMensMinistry@yahoo.com.